2013 Ohio Section Award for
Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics

Lew Ludwig

Denison University

The
recipient of the 2013 Ohio Section Award for Distinguished College
or University Teaching of Mathematics is Dr. Lewis Ludwig from
Denison University, where he has been since 2002. Lew’s commitment
to teaching, to the Ohio Section, and to the National MAA makes
him a clear choice for the award. The assistant chair of his
department described the winner as a “master teacher” and former
students commented that Lew is “an excellent mentor, an
exceptional teacher of mathematics and he is always looking for
ways to more effectively engage students, both those who love math
and those who don’t.”

A
former student praised Dr. Ludwig’s mentorship skills, saying
“Through his guidance, I was able to present my thesis work at two
national conferences and win cash awards for my presentation in
both cases. That confidence in communicating (and not just
mathematics) has stayed with me into graduate school and carried
over into my own teaching.” A current student comments “From the
very first time a student sits down in a class run by Dr. Ludwig,
they can sense that it will be unlike other math classrooms they
have been in before” and that he “puts the responsibility on his
students to gain a sense of academic curiosity and a passion to
come to class to learn how to do the problems they are asked to
try on their own the night before.” Lew’s teaching mentor stated
“I also discovered quickly that I could learn a lot of new
teaching techniques from Lew” and that he “firmly believes in
providing an atmosphere in which students can take charge of their
education.”

In
addition to excellence in the classroom, Professor Ludwig has
supervised ten undergraduate research projects, three of which
have led to publications in peer-reviewed journals. One of these
articles received the Pi Mu Epsilon Amanda award for best student
article. Overall, Lew’s students have won twelve awards at
national conferences for their presentations.

As a
member of the Ohio Section, Lew has been a member of CONSACT, the
program committee, and has handled the local arrangements for an
annual Section meeting at Denison University. He has also given
several contributed talks at Section meetings on pedagogy and
undergraduate research. Lew has been involved at the national
level through invited talks, workshops, and panel discussions,
discussing ways to improve students’ presentation skills. He is
known nationally for a series of vignettes depicting the do’s and
don’ts of math talks. His DVD, “Technically Speaking” has been
distributed to nearly 500 mathematics departments.